


every move you make, every step you take, i’ll be watchin’ you

by Lookatmyblanket



Category: IT (2017)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), FINALLY A REAL TAG, GEORGIE HAS A CAMEO, M/M, So is Eddie, it’s towards the end of the chapters though, i’ve ever created, my little strawberry son, richie and bill are in college, stan’s an FBI agent, the rest of the losers are there but idk where, they work together, this is the best and worst thing, vvvvv slow updates, what do i even fuckin tag
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-02-07
Updated: 2018-06-19
Packaged: 2019-03-13 11:13:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 6,609
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13569402
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lookatmyblanket/pseuds/Lookatmyblanket
Summary: stan is an FBI agent who gets assigned surveillance cases consisting of watching people through their phone cameras, laptop webcams, etc.. his newest assignment is a college student named bill denbrough.





	1. chapter one

**Author's Note:**

> y’all aren’t even ready for the absolute buffoonery about to happen here on this day

Stan jumped as a folder was thrown down onto his desk, making him knock over his pencil cup noisily. He glared up at his coworker Mike as he cleaned up the pencils, setting the cup down roughly before turning to face Mike fully with a sarcastic smile.

“What can I do for you, Hulk?”

“Y’know, Stan, I’ve always loved your people skills. Such a friendly face to visit after a long work day.” Stan scoffed at Mike’s retort, smiling lightly.

“I’m sorry we can’t all be Little Miss Sunshine. Just give me the run down of the assignment, Mike.”

“College student, Michigan State specifically, name’s Bill Denbrough. Eddie’s got his friend so he probably has some personal information already.” Mike explained, smiling again before walking away from Stan’s desk to deliver more files.

Stan sighed deeply before rolling his chair over to his computer, taking the file with him. After a few seconds of typing and clicking, Stan’s computer screen lit up with a sign in page.

“You would think that the FB fucking I would have a better password than **xmarksthespot**.” He muttered to himself, blowing a stray curl out of his eyes as he signed in.

“Hey, Stan–“

“Jesus _Christ_ , why is everyone trying to give me a heart attack today?!” Stan exclaimed, hand over his heart as if he were actually at risk of keeling over.

“Uh huh, so anyway, Mike told me you have the best friend of my charge. You found anything?” Eddie asked, leaning against Stan’s desk.

Stan glared at him, not breaking eye contact as he reached over and took a pencil out of its cup, scribbling something on a sticky note and handing it to Eddie smugly. Eddie flipped it over and scanned it, raising an eyebrow at his friend.

“‘ **go fuck yourself** ’ is surprisingly not at all helpful, thanks for the tip, though.” Eddie griped, balling up the note and tossing it into the wastebasket at the next desk over.

“Well no one else will so I thought I’d help anyway I could. And no, I haven’t even gotten into the guy’s phone yet.”

“I got his friend’s stuff about an hour ago. His name’s Richie, seems pretty harmless, honestly. Well, as harmless as a boy with three different tindr accounts can be.” Stan snorted at that, waving Eddie off as he turned back to his computer and set to work getting into his charges phone and laptop.

Bill’s phone was cracked easily (the password was 4321, stan now had a shred more respect for his bureau’s password) and Stan had access to everything immediately. He opened a word document next to the screen showing the contents of Bill’s phone, dating it before scrolling through the phone to take notes of all the apps and notifications. Stan made notes of the background, studying the picture of a boy that looked about ten, his brown hair wild as he was pushed on a swing. The photo had obviously been taken mid-laugh and was adorable, not that Stan would ever admit it. He made note that Bill was obviously a family man.

“Rich, ha-have you seen my sp-sp-speech notes?” Came a voice from Stan’s monitor, startling him.

He tilted his head at the mention of another boy, looking at Eddie with his eyebrows raised in question. Eddie nodded, mouthing, “ _that’s my guy_ ,” before turning back to his own laptop.

“Nah, Big Bill. Have you checked Beverly’s bed? You spend a lot of time there.”

“Ha ha ha, b-big talk coming from a guy who hasn’t s-s-sl-slept in his own bed since fa-all semester.”

“Am I bring slut shamed by _the_ Bill Denbrough? The same Bill I’ve seen take _four_ d–“

“Okay, okay, okay! I ne-never said you couldn’t sleep around, do w-whatever you want, but Bev and I aren’t sleeping to-together.” Bill sighed, it sounded like he had this conversation a lot.

“You’ll find someone, Bill. Hell, maybe the FBI agent watching you right now wants a piece of that famous Denbrough ass.” Richie said confidently. A slap echoed through the computer’s speakers and a whiny, “ _ooowww_ ” came from Eddie’s.

Stan gulped at the thought of any of his assignments actually finding out he was watching them, knowing it would not turn out well for the bureau if he was the reason they were found out. But, by some miracle, conspiracy theories about the government watching people and listening to their conversations became so popular that anyone thinking that the FBI was really watching them only did so for fun, it was an internet joke at this point.

“Oh, calm down, I di-didn’t even hit your arm tha-that hard.”

“It’s _bruising_!” Richie screeched.

“B-Because you don’t eat anything of nutritional value. The w-wind blowing too hard bruises you.”

“Billy boy, you wound me.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll k-k-kiss it better later, I’m go-gonna be late for speech.” Bill said, shuffling some things before opening a door and walking out of it.

Stan looked over at the notes he’s been taking as the two men talked, tapping his pencil’s eraser against his lip absentmindedly. So, Bill had a speech impediment and a best friend with a vitamin D deficiency in more ways than one.

Stan made a few more notes about Bill taking a speech class before he set down his pencil and clicked on some more buttons on his screen before Bill’s camera was filling up his monitor.

Big blue eyes stared back at him, the brunet boy’s head bopping to a beat that was coming from headphones he’d stuck in his ears. Stan slid his mouse over and pulled up the phone screen page, looking through the apps until he came across his music. Bill had a thing for Sam Smith it seemed, his current playlist consisting of nothing but that artist.

Stan watched as Bill interacted with different apps as he walked to class, answering snapchats and instagram messages as he hummed to his music. He looked up suddenly and sighed softly, looking down at his phone camera again.

“Well, FBI man, wish-sh me luck in sp-speech today.” Bill said, powering off his phone and pocketing it as he made his way into the building.

Stan was suddenly very interested in this Bill Denbrough.


	2. chapter two

“—and he’s just so dumb and unorderly and loud and–“

“Eddie, I swear on my _life_ , if I have to hear one more thing about your assignment I’m going to punch you. It’s only been a month.” Stan said, stabbing at the salad in front of him bitterly.

Eddie just blinked, unfazed by Stan’s threat that he knew had at least a 73% chance of being true.

“I take it Bill’s been busy?”

Stan groaned, throwing his head back. Eddie chuckled at his theatrics, dipping one of his fries into his ketchup, chewing it as he watched Stan’s continued tantrum.

“Hasn’t even picked up his phone in days. _Days_ , Eddie. What college guy voluntarily leaves his phone lying around? I’m surprised Richie hasn’t taken it to have his daily ugly selfie session.”

“You do get a bit touchy when you haven’t seen him. But Richie isn’t some petty thief, Stanley. Plus he can’t even get into it. Passcode and shit.” Eddie mumbled the last part, blush spilling onto his cheeks.

“Oooo, am I seeing **_the_** Edward Kaspbrak blushing over a boy?” Stan gasped dramatically, dodging the balled up straw paper Eddie threw.

“I don’t like him. And what about you, Stan? Mr. Gets-Bitchy-When-He-Can’t-See-Bill.”

“I do **not** have feelings for this boy, _Edward_. I just like doing my job and when he isn’t on that phone, I can’t do it.” Stan scoffed, turning his head away from Eddie with folded arms. Eddie rolled his eyes playfully.

“Y’know, wouldn’t be the first time you found a guy you liked through the job. Remember He-“

“Eddie. Shut up.” Stan said seriously, his eyes trained on the doors of the cafe they were in.

“Why is it _you_ can make jokes but when _I_ do–“

“Eddie, I swear to fuck, if you don’t shut the fuck up right now-“

“—Why are you being a dic– **hey**!—”

Stan reached across the table and grasped Eddie’s face in one hand, his cheeks smushed as his head was jerked to look where Stan had been a few seconds prior. Two guys had walked in, shaking the snow off their coats as they talked, seeming to appreciate the warmth the cafe brought.

“Holy _fuck_! Is that them?!” Eddie whisper yelled, the words sounding a bit strange from having Stan’s fingers still digging into his face.

“Should’ve known they’d show up to the only decent coffee shop in town. Just be cool, they don’t know who we are.” Stan muttered, letting go of Eddie’s face. The smaller man rubbed his skin to gain some feeling back, glaring a bit at Stan’s hand.

The men watched their charges weave between tables, Stan laughing softly to himself when Richie ran into three different chairs. Eddie punched him in the arm which resulted in a whisper yelled argument and ended with Eddie choking on his own spit when their charges picked to sit at the table next to theirs, which was also, now that Stan really looked around, the only other two person table in the shop. Eddie’s entire face had gone red, like he wasn’t even attempting to breathe anymore, so Stan kicked him under the table, setting him with a calm look.

“You’re fine, just breathe. I’ll get the check and we can go.” Stan muttered, waving at their waitress behind the counter.

“I’m telling you, Billiam, I’ve never looked up that video, I don’t even follow the account! All I did was mention it to Ben and then what’s in my explore feed not even a day later?”

“Ig-guanas swimming in a-a b-bathtub.”

“Iguanas swimming in a bathtub!” Richie exclaimed, huffing as he sat back in his chair.

Eddie couldn’t help but study him, taking in his four mile long legs and hands the size of dinner plates, his even messier than usual hair and loud tone. Eddie almost had an asthma attack just looking at this boy. Stan almost threw up.

“R-Rich, I’m t-tell-telling you, whatever FBI agent that go-ot assigned to you loves you. That’s the thi-third time this week you’ve g-otte-en cheered up by some s-stupid animal video or be-being emailed Dom-Dominoe’s coupons. You should be th-thanking him.” Bill said matter of factly, waving at a waitress coming up to their table.

The girl gave Stan the one minute finger and set to work getting Bill’s and Richie’s orders. Eddie saw Richie lick his lips after ordering a burger and and almost passed out, getting another kick from Stan. She walked off to get the orders to the cook, leaving Stan and Eddie without a check again.

“Yeah, yeah, you just like yours so much because he makes sure all your alarms go off on time.”

“Well, he-he wouldn’t have to i-if _someone_ d-did-didn’t turn them off every n-night.”

“Bill, you know I cannot medically get up before noon. I could die. Is that what you want, Bill? You want your best friend to _die_ just so you can make your workout?”

Bill gave Richie a look, sipping on the water the waitress had brought him as Richie moved onto trying to blow straw paper at Bill.

Stan watched the exchange amusedly, finding himself holding back laughter each time Bill came up with a retort to any comment or argument Richie had. He was intelligent and good at comebacks without being rude and Stan found himself more and more intrigued by the boy next to him. It hit him suddenly that he had been so focused on their table neighbours conversation that Eddie had had to talk to the waitress, apologising for Stan spacing out.

“Thank you, keep the change.” Eddie said, handing the waitress two twenties and standing to grab his coat.

Stan followed suit until he felt a hand on the sleeve of his button up, his head whipping to the left only to be met with the smiling face of Bill Denbrough.

“Hi, so sorry to bother you on your way out, but can we borrow your ketchup? Ours is out.”

Stan blinked once, then twice, before nodding jerkily and handing over the ketchup bottle. In his hurry, his fingers slipped and the bottle fell from his hand. He gasped and tried to catch it but Bill was faster, his hand darting out to catch the bottle and grasping it right over Stan’s hands. They both froze, looking at the bottle and then each other before Stan released his hold, blush coating his cheeks.

“I-I am so sorry about that.” Stan said, smoothing down his shirt nervously.

“No worries, my dude, Bill’s got that single man grip so it was a good save.” Richie piped up. Stan glanced over to see him and Eddie in their own conversation once again.

“It’s okay, don’t even worry about it. Thank you.” Bill said kindly, smiling at Stan.

Stan’s lungs physically stopped working at the sight, his brain short circuiting as he struggled to find something to say. He floundered for another moment before grabbing Eddie by his collar and dragging him out of the shop.

“Bye, Eddie Spaghetti!” Richie called, waving obnoxiously.

“Eddie Spaghetti?” Stan asked once they were in the safety of his car.

“He asked my name and then what the best thing on the menu was and I said the spaghetti and then that’s all he called me for the ten minutes you sat gawking at Bill.”

“I–I–I was not _gawking_! I didn’t gawk!” Stan said shrilly, making Eddie laugh evilly.

“You _were_ and you _did_ and guess who’s getting Beverly to set up a date?” Eddie sing songed, grinning at his partner with his chin in his hand and his elbow on the centre console.

Stan narrowed his eyes at Eddie before throwing the car in reverse, stepping on the gas and then slamming on the brakes, making Eddie fly forward towards the dash. He laughed maniacally as Eddie shrieked about the airbag and whiplash.

Stan was _not_ gawking. He was just doing his job. Observe, take notes, learn the assignment. But it never said anything in the company policy about observing a little more personally. Stan was _just doing his job_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i’m trash at updating i’m vv sorry 
> 
> also i’m pretty sure i formatted it correctly but if anything looks off just pretend it’s right, thank ya


	3. chapter three

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i gave stan the first middle name i could think of dont y’all dare come for me

“Stan. Stan. Stanley. Staaaaannnn.” Mike whined, poking Stan in the cheek after every name.

“Hmm, wha-?” Stan grumbled, rubbing his eyes as he sat up at his desk, swatting half heartedly at Mike’s finger still trying to poke his face.

“Stan, everyone else left like an hour ago, man.” Mike chuckled, picking up Stan’s coat that he had folded next to his desktop and offering it to the older man.

“Oh, I was just-“

“Just stalking your case again?” Mike asked impishly, raising an eyebrow suggestively.

“I wasn’t _stalking_ him, I just got distracted by his studying. Did you know he was taking Latin?” Stan steered the conversation away from what Mike was leading up to, his face heating up as he reached for the jacket Mike was still holding.

“I didn’t know that, but I suppose he’s not my case to know about.” Mike said with a shrug, leaning forward to remove the sticky note stuck to Stan’s cheek. Stan blushed again, scowling to himself for seeming like such a mess.

“Just go home and get some sleep, Stan, he’ll be there when you get up.” Mike said with a wink, spinning his key ring around his index finger as he turned to walk out of the building, nodding to the security guard as he stepped out the front doors.

Stan glanced at his desktop, debating n whether or not to shut it down for the night. He had to at least check on Bill, right? Wasn’t that his job?

 _You’re turning into a stalker, Stanley, go home_ , a voice in his head snapped. Stan rolled his eyes and listened, shutting off his computer and gathering his things neatly before heading out after Mike.

————————————————————

“Eddie, Eddie, slow down, I can’t understand a word you’re saying.” Stan said into his house phone, cradling it between his cheek and shoulder as he struggled to open his cereal bar without spilling crumbs everywhere.

“I said–jesus _christ_ , why are my legs so short? stairs are fuckin’ hard when you’re short, Stan,“ Eddie panted, sounding like he was at least two flights up to his fourth floor apartment. “–I _said_ that I ran into my charge again and he asked me out so then I said I’d have to think on it and then he gave me his number for when I decide.” Eddie repeated, fast paced as usual to make sure he didn’t lose his train of thought.

“Your charge? _Richie?!_ ” Stan asked, almost dropped the phone and the granola bar, struggling to understand where Eddie’s lack of thought came from.

“Yeah; curly hair, glasses, like twelve feet tall, massive–“

“ **EDDIE!** ”

“– **hANDS! I WAS GONNA SAY HANDS!** ” Eddie screeched, bursting into laughter despite him being out of breath from taking the stairs.

“Well? What are you gonna tell him?” Stan asked after his friend calmed down, breaking off a piece of granola to chew.

“I don’t even know what shoes to wear with my suit during the week, how the _hell_ am I supposed to make more important decisions? I’m only one man, Stanley, I can only do so much!” Eddie wailed. Stan figured he was nearing the halfway point on the third flight of steps by then.

“Do you like him? Do you have any similar interests? Have you told him you watch him lip sync Kesha when he’s alone in his dorm? Have you discussed an intervention about his selfie addiction?”

“I think so, not sure yet, **nO STAN** , and no, I don’t think I could. I love his face too much to even have him thinking about stopping.”

Stan stood still for a minute, leaning back against his kitchen counter as he thought. This could be good for Eddie; someone not that far from his age, seemed nice and funny, looked Eddie’s type, it all seemed perfect. But on the other hand...

“Does he know what you do for a living?” Stan asked, knowing it was a subject Eddie didn’t want to bring up.

There was a long pause before a dramatic sigh and the sound of Eddie sucking his teeth in annoyance.

“Well, I can’t just go off and tell him that I watch people for a living, Stanley! He’ll think I’m some creep!”

“But you’ll have to tell him eventually. What then?”

“I don’t _know_.” Eddie whined, the sound of his keys opening his apartment loud over the phone.

“I say go for it but don’t hold out on The Talk for long, just get it over with.”

Eddie sighed.

“I know, I know. You’re right, but let me have a little fun before I send him running off.”

“Oh I would never spoil your fun, just be safe, please.”

“Okay, _mom_.”

“I will fight you, Edward.”

“And you’ll lose like the last three times you’ve stepped up, thank you very much. Kisses!” Eddie yelled, hanging up.

Stan shook his head fondly, taking his cereal bar and phone into the living room so he could finish reading his newly purchased book: _Social Skills for Dummies._

————————————————————

Stan woke up the next morning an hour earlier than his alarm was supposed to go off and at least a hundred texts from Eddie. He groaned into his pillow as he lazily grabbed his phone, scrolling through the texts until one caught his eye.

short: **sTAN CALL ME GHIS IS IMPORTENT LIKE LIFE LR DEAGH IMPIETNEG**

Stan couldn’t tell if he was more concerned for Eddie or for his lack of spelling ability, calling him anyway as he scrolled through the rest of the texts until the call went through.

“Eddie? Are you okay?”

Silence until suddenly Stan’s eardrum almost collapsed with a rush of noise from Eddie’s end of the call.

“ **STAN LISTEN YOU’RE GONNA LOVE ME!** ”

“Oooo, there’s a first.” Stan deadpanned.

“ **I KNOW I WOKE YOU UP, I’M SORRY, BUT LISTEN! SO, ME AND RICHIE WENT HOME TOGETHER LAST NIGHT AND–** “

“Wait, you _slept together_?!”

“ **STAN, DON’T INTERRUPT! ANYWAY, LIKE I WAS SAYING, AFTER ME AND RICHIE WENT BACK TO HIS PLACE, I WAS MENTIONING HOW I HAD A FRIEND WHO WAS SINGLE, AND HE OFFERED TO SET BILL UP WITH SAID FRIEND AND GUESS WHAT!** ”

“What?” Stan’s heart was racing, whether with nerves or shock that Eddie had slept with Richie so early into their dating he didn’t know.

“ **YOU’RE SAID FRIEND!** ” Eddie screeched, his smile radiating through the phone.

Stan’s eyes almost popped out of his head, his mouth opening and closing in shock as he tried figuring out a way to respond.

“ **AAAAAND, HE SHOULD BE TEXTING YOU SOMETIME SOON BECAUSE THIS IS HIS USUAL WORKOUT TIME! I’M SUCH A GOOD FRIEND!** ” Eddie yelled, sounding like he was close to jumping up and down on his bed in happiness.

“Eddie, I don’t know if–“

“Stanley James Uris, don’t you _dare_ overthink this and make it bad before it’s even happened. Just try a date, text a little, just let things happen how they happen, okay? You deserve this.” Eddie said sternly, not bothering for a response before hanging up.

Stan groaned again and fell back against his pillows, almost falling back asleep when his phone went off again with a text. Stan almost threw his phone at the wall when he glanced at the number lighting up his phone screen.

 **_New Message From: +1 612-877-1209_ **  
_ hey, is this butterfingers from the diner? this is bill, i was the guy not trying to flirt with your friend. _

All the air from Stan’s lungs rushed out in a single second, his brain short circuiting when he tried to think of a response.

 _Yes, this is he_? No. _Yep, that’s me_? Too psychic. Stan almost shoved his pillow over his face to knock himself out when he bit the bullet and started typing.

 **_To New Contact:_ **  
_Yeah, that would be me. Gotta say, I’m not usually that bad at holding things like a normal person._

Stan hit send before he even thought, throwing the phone as far away from himself as he could get without breaking it.

“What the fuck did I just _**do**_?!” Stan yelled, flopping back under his comforter to hide from the world.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO SO SO SO SO SOOOO LATE IM REALLY REALLY SORRY I’VE JUST BEEN SUPER UNMOTIVATED LMA O


	4. chapter four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW ITS LATE AND SHITTY OKAY FREE PASSES TO YELL AT ME FOR EVERYONE 
> 
> BUT TO BE FAIR IVE TRIED TO POST THIS FOR TWO WEEKS AND IT WASN’T LETTING ME EDIT IT SOOO ITS NOT ENTIRELY MY FAULT

To say Bill and Stan had hit it off would be a little bit of a white lie. They knocked it out of the whole damn park. Stan had never met someone that was so accommodating to his headstrong attitude and his remaining OCD tendencies. Bill had never met someone who actually had the patience to sit through a conversation with him and his ever present stutter, or even someone who could listen to him talk about wanting to major in literature without laughing in his face.

 

They got to their first problem in the first few months of their growing bond when Bill texted Stan asking if they could meet up for lunch sometime. Stan said he would get back to him on a date. He never did.

 

In Stan’s defence, he was nervous about Bill asking questions about his job. What was he supposed to tell him, exactly? That his entire job consisted of spying on people for the government but, don’t worry, it’s totally not creepy or a total invasion of privacy? Stan laughed out loud at the memory of Eddie saying those exact words to his last potential partner. The outcome wasn’t very happy. But Stan had gone too far out of his comfort zone, he’d gotten too attached to Bill, to just lose everything.

 

So Stan avoided any time Bill tried setting to meet in person again, he stopped going to that café, he even stayed at work long after he was supposed to just to lessen the chance of bumping into the stuttering boy on his way home.

 

And it worked, it worked good. For a while. They still texted and talked on the phone as much as they could, Stan still avoiding Bill’s plans, until one day Bill reached his limit.

 

“Bill, I can’t, with work and all–“

 

“What is it that you do, exactly, that you’re always too busy to do anything with me?”

 

Stan choked on his own spit, his eyes wide at what he knew was the inevitable.

 

“Bill, you know it’s not like that–“

 

“Then what _is_ it like, Stan?” Bill demanded, sounding a little more hurt than annoyed at Stan’s constant avoidance.

 

“I-I just-I can’t, Bill. It’s hard to explain.”

 

The line went quiet for a few beats, Stan’s pulse thrumming so loud in his ears that he thought he wouldn’t have been able to hear Bill even if he did speak.

 

“Well when you figure out how to explain it, call me. Until then, have a good day at _work_.” Bill snapped, hanging up not a moment later.

 

Stan stood in the middle of his kitchen with his phone still pressed against his ear, his heart hammering and his throat tightening. He blinked back the newly forming tears in his eyes and tried to even out his breathing, setting down his phone and walking up to his room. He didn’t even care that he was fully dressed, his body falling on top of his bed, tangling himself in the comforter and pillows so he could wallow in the ache forming in his chest.

 

––——————––——————––————

 

Eddie usually never worried about Stan. Stan was the guy never late to work without calling ahead first, was always the DD without any complaint, and was always on time to anything he had planned with you.

 

So when Stan didn’t show up for work a few days in a row, Eddie’s internal red flag went up. _But, maybe Mike just gave him a few days off because of all the overtime he’s been doing_ , Eddie’s brain offered. He was pretty content with that explanation, getting almost halfway through Richie’s parent’s criminal records when another red flag sprung up.

 

“Hey, Ed, have you seen Stan? He didn’t clock in this mornin’. Hasn’t all week, actually.” Mike asked, sipping out of his _**#1 Dad**_ mug Eddie had bought him last Christmas.

 

Eddie turned around in his chair slowly, his eyes wide and eyebrows raised almost even with his hairline. He felt his mouth dry and his head fill with questions. Where was Stan? Why was he late? Did something happen to him? Wouldn’t he have called me if he couldn’t come in?

 

“Eddie?” Mike tried again, growing concerned for Eddie as well as the absent Stan.

 

“I–uhh–he–he never came in this morning?” Eddie spluttered, his palms starting to sweat at the idea of something happening to Stan and him not being able to do something.

 

“No, security says he never checked in and his files for today haven’t even been touched. Do you know where he could be?” Mike asked, not liking the nervousness in one of his agents.

 

“He’s probably just at his house, I should probably go look just to make sure.” Eddie said in a rush, grabbing his coat before sprinting out towards the parking lot.

 

“ **YOU CAN’T JUST LEAVE W** ork.” Mike gave up, shaking his head in disbelief. He took another sip from his mug and went back to his office.

 

—––——————––——————––————

 

“ **STAN IF YOU DON’T OPEN THIS DOOR RIGHT NOW I’LL TELL MIKE SOMEONE’S HOLDING YOU HOSTAGE!** ” Eddie yelled after ten straight minutes of pounding on his friend’s front door, calling him repeatedly, and even throwing rocks at his window until Eddie was almost sure he cracked it.

 

Eddie paused to listen for movement behind the door, groaning before narrowing his eyes at the wood and took a step back. He may be in FBI surveillance but he’d still been trained with the rest of his peers so using that to his advantage seemed like the best route to take to get his friend out of his house. He took a deep breath, bouncing on his toes a moment before setting his feet and squaring his shoulders, lifting his leg to kick the door closest to the doorknob when it swung open.

 

Stan grabbed Eddie’s foot before it could collide with his stomach, twisting it so Eddie lost balance and fell onto his front on the porch. He glared up at Stan who stared dully back.

 

“That was uncalled for, not to mention fucking _rude_.” Eddie snapped, standing up and dusting himself off.

 

“Calling in a false hostage situation as well as breaking into my house without a warrant is grounds for job termination, Kaspbrak.” Stan said, turning back into his apartment while Eddie followed.

 

Eddie expected the sass, assuming Stan wouldn’t be feeling his best if he hadn’t come in to work for a few days.

 

What Eddie wasn’t expecting was the mess he was met with when he walked into Stan’s place, half eaten take out and clothes strewn about the living room and kitchen, dirty dishes piled on the table, and even Stan himself looking like he’d been hit by a train.

 

His usually uniform hair was now disheveled and unbrushed, his clothes wrinkled and stained, and don’t even get Eddie started on the smell radiating from Stan. It was like walking into a locker room after a football game minus all the Axe and the low-key homoeroticism. He didn’t even look like he’d slept in days, worrying Eddie the most. Stan always took care of himself so to see this man standing before him, unshaven and unwashed, startled him.

 

“Stan, dude, what happened? Where have you been?” Eddie almost screeched, his emotions and anxiety wearing his rationality thin.

 

Stan moved an old sock off of one of the dining table chairs and sat down , crossing his arms over his stomach before he looked over at Eddie.

 

“Taking a few personal days.”

 

“Without telling Mike? Or even me?”

 

Stan chuckled humourlessly, confusing his friend. What was there to laugh at? Eddie didn’t see any jokes in the conversation.

 

“How do you do it, Eddie?” Stan asked suddenly.

 

“Do what?”

 

“Have a relationship with Richie without him finding out about what you do for a living. How do you just do that?”

 

Eddie thought for a few beats, determined to get answers out of Stan. If he had to answer to receive, so be it.

 

“We go out on dates every few nights, we talk and text a lot, we just get together as much as we can.”

 

“And he still has no idea that you’ve been spying on every private piece of his life for the past seven months?”

 

That one threw him off guard, the tone curious but the phrasing harsh. Stan was getting emotional so this had to be about his job and Bill.

 

“Tell me what happened, Stan.” Eddie said softly, taking the seat opposite of his best friend.

 

And despite everything Stan stood for, he let everything out. The floodgates were opened and he didn’t leave out a single detail, explaining the argument and the accusations, even the tears, which were a few seconds from making a second appearance when Stan finished.

 

“Wow.”

 

“Yeah, so that’s why I haven’t been–“

 

“That is the stupidest fucking excuse to not talk to someone I’ve ever heard.”

 

Stan’s mouth gaped, struggling to understand what was happening.

 

“W-What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stan asked acidly, his arms folding tighter.

 

“You’re scared of him finding out about your job? Stan, you’ve been talking to and about this guy for months and you’re letting this stop you? Did you tase yourself with your taser again or are you more insane that I thought?” Eddie asked, sounding exasperated.

 

“I–I–“

 

“You can’t just let a guy who likes you so much to just get away from you like that. You’re gonna go upstairs and clean yourself up, I’m gonna pick up a little, and then you’re calling Bill and planning a date for tonight. I cannot believe I’m not being paid to be your life coach, Stanley, honestly.” Eddie sighed, pulling Stan up and shoving him toward the bathroom.

 

“Eddie, I can’t.”

 

“Sure you can, you just turn on the water and wait until it gets warm so you don’t freeze your d–“

 

“I mean I can’t just call him. He’s mad at me, he probably hates me with how much of a dick I’ve been for the past few months.” Stan admitted quietly, looking down at the hallway floor.

 

“If you think he’d stay mad at you while you’re taking him out on your very first date, you’re crazy. He’s into you, don’t ruin it. Just go for it. Now, shoo, you smell like a coroners office.” Eddie said cockily, hands on his hips until Stan sighed and went into the bathroom to start the shower.

 

Eddie turned back to the dining table, picking up his phone and scrolling through his contacts before picking one and smiling.

 

“Richie, babe, I need a favour. No, not one of _those_ favours. Babe, **babe** , okay fine, _fine_ , later. But, seriously, I need you to tell Bill to meet me at…” Eddie gave him the address, grinning like a mad man as he started picking up all the takeout boxes around the room.


	5. chapter five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this is short and shitty just like me so i'm vv sorry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE AHHH

 

“What the f- _fuck_ are y-you-u doing here?” Bill fumed, his eyes narrowed in annoyance as he stared at a nervous looking Stan holding a handful of forget me nots.

Okay, so, maybe not the _best_ reaction Stan could’ve hoped for. But, to be fair, Eddie _did_ trick Bill into believing that he was going to be meeting Eddie at the café near the college to talk about Richie’s birthday. It wasn’t Stan’s fault Eddie shoved keys and a bouquet into his hands before telling him to drive to the café with zero explanation.

“I-I wanted to apologise for how our last conversation went.” Stan said earnestly, not moving away from where he was stood next to his car in case Bill didn’t feel like seeing his face a minute longer.

Much like the first, Stan didn’t plan on Bill’s next reaction.

“You-you…wanna _ap-pologise_?” Bill asked, his head slightly tilted and his eyebrows furrowed.

“Of course. I blew things out of proportion when I should’ve been honest and I’m sorry. If you’d still like to talk, I’d be more than willing.”

Bill was quiet for a few beats, his eyes flicking from Stan’s face to the bouquet in his hands then to his car and back again. Stan felt sweat beading on the back of his neck as he waited for Bill to say something.

“I-I shouldn’t have come, I’m s—“

“I sh-shouldn’t have been so h-ha-hard on you about a stupid job-b, it’s not even important. If any-anyone should apologise, it should be m-me.” Bill said suddenly, his cheeks flushed and his fingers twisting together nervously. He glanced back at his car again and this time Stan followed it, his gaze settling on a big pair of blue eyes staring at him before ducking down in the seat.

“Do I have an admirer?” Stan asked amusedly, looking past Bill towards the car.

“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, I mean, we only met a few months ago—“

“Bill, not you, that one.” Stan chuckled, nodding towards the small face now smushed against the car window.

Bill turned around and sighed, covering his face with his hand before turning back to Stan.

“I’m sorry, I thought I was meeting Eddie so I went ahead and brought Georgie along.”

“So, this is Georgie.” Stan smiled, waving towards the boy.

“Have I mentioned him before? I never thought I brought him up.” Bill asked, his eyebrows furrowing as he looked up at Stan.

_Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuckfuck **think** fuckfuck_

“Uhh, _yeah_! You talked about going home to see him over Christmas break, remember?” Stan covered quickly, cursing himself for his slip up.

Bill had never talked about any of his family to Stan, just a small detail here or there that never even really specified Bill had a brother at all, a sibling definitely, but nothing specific like a name. Stan had been listening (kind of) to a few of Bill’s calls when he’d zoned back in at the mention of Bill’s now mentioned brother.

“It must’ve been a late call, I never remember anything past 11, honestly.” Bill chuckled.

Bill sighed in relief.

“Anyway, do you wanna meet him? He’s probably gonna try and tell my mom I took him to visit a drug dealer or something if you don’t say hi.” Bill joked, grabbing Stan’s hand and pulling him over to the car.

Stan’s knees shook a bit.

Bill opened the passenger door and Georgie stepped out, his big blue eyes never leaving Stan’s face.

“Georgie, this is Stan. Stan, Georgie.”

Stan stuck out his hand for Georgie to shake.

“Hi, Georgie. It’s nice to meet you.” Stan said warmly, looking him in the—Jesus, did this kid ever blink?

“Hi, Stan. Billy talks about you a lot. When him and Richie come home, all they talk about is you and this other guy named Eddie. Richie calls him spaghetti but I don’t think he likes it very much. And Billy calls you his b—“

“OKay, and the introductions are over! It was great seeing you, Stan! Maybe we can go out for lunch tomorrow?!” Bill rushed, his entire face pink.

“That would be wonderful, Bill. Oh! Don’t forget these.” Stan said, handing the bouquet over.

Bill took it and inhaled the flowers deeply, his eyes widening when they flashed back to Stan.

“Forget me nots? How did you know these were my favourites?”

And, well, _fuck_. Stan knew from a few spied on texts that Bill sent to his mom but couldn't just _say_ that and _technically_ , Stan (again) wasn’t at fault here because Eddie had given it to him to give to Bill but Stan had maybe mentioned a week prior (while they were in Publix for Eddie’s gross humus) that a particular bouquet matched Bill’s eyes. That sounded cute so he went with that line.

“I didn’t, actually. I just saw them and saw they matched your eyes so I figured you’d like them at least a little bit.” Stan said smoothly. His brain made a note to thank Eddie a million times.

“They’re beautiful.” Bill smiled, rushing forward to hug Stan close to him.

“B—“

“Thank you, Stan.”

Bill went back to his car and was about to drive off when Georgie said something to him and Stan saw Bill look at him before saying something back quickly. It went on for a minute before Bill opened his door and stood up to look at Stan over the roof of the car.

“Georgie wants to know if you’d like to join us for lunch at McDonald’s. You absolutely don’t have to say—“

“I’d love to. If that’s alright with you.”

Bill opened his mouth and closed it a few times before he smiled and shook his head, patting the car’s roof before getting back in his seat. Stan followed suit and climbed in the back, his head brushing the ceiling a bit.

“Everyone got seatbelts on?” Bill asked, glancing at Stan in the rear view mirror and then at Georgie. They both nodded.

“ **MCDONALD’SMCDONALD’SMCDONALD’S**!” Georgie cheered as Bill drove out of the parking lot, bouncing in his seat from excitement.

Stan could get used to this kid.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i know, i know, i know: i'm awful and entirely late posting this. cue the comments about my mental health fluctuating dramatically, my school and my work schedule being insane, and just plain laziness. i promise i'll try to do better :::-)

**Author's Note:**

> my friend read the summary and immediately wanted this chaptered so here we are 
> 
>  
> 
> THIS IS SHIT BUT WE’RE ROLLIN WITH IT


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